Gossip. The more you talk about why people do things, the more ideas you have about how the world works.
Every first draft is perfect, because all a first draft has to do is exist.
I thought I might write mysteries for the rest of my life.
My characters never die screaming in rage. They attempt to pull themselves back together and go on. And that's basically a conservative view of life.
Oh, that sound? I'm in the hot tub, reading a novel.
The brave view is that talking it out helps work it out. Maybe the realistic view is that talking it out inflames the issues further. But that is America, especially these days.